Experimental Studies on a Spinner Anemometer Using Pressure Sensor by a Field Wind Turbine

Abstract

For the wind assessment at the wind turbine performance test, a meteorological mast at the hub height is installed around 2.5 times the rotor diameter upstream from the wind turbine. However, in recent years, wind turbines have become larger and the construction cost of meteorological mast has also increased. Therefore, in this study, devised a technology to estimate the inflow wind speed is developed by measuring the surface pressure with a pressure sensor mounted on the spinner of the wind turbine rotor and converting it to the inflow wind speed. This technology has the advantage that it can be performed at a lower cost than the existing inflow observation technology. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the application of spinner-mounted pressure sensors in natural environments through field experiments. The obtained wind speed by the pressure on the spinner was compared to the inflow wind speed measured by an ultrasonic anemometer located upstream of the wind turbine. As a result, the spinner sensor wind speed estimation error may exceed the nominal error range equivalent to ±10 Pa of pressure sensor accuracy. However, the spinner sensor wind speed can generally estimate the inflow wind speed.